


Hands

by luch



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Crime Scenes, Murder, Serial Killers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-21 12:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21299471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luch/pseuds/luch
Summary: The team investigates a dead body, but as they dig deeper, the man's ordinary life gives them no leads to who the killer may be.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	1. Geoffry Lancaster

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for this fandom, feel free to comment on whatever.

Malcolm woke from the depth of a nightmare to his phone vibrating in its off-beat pattern on the nightstand. Shocking, because it usually took a lot to wake him. Say, crashing through a window. He spat out his mouthguard onto the ground and unchained himself. Gil’s name was on the screen of Malcolm still-vibrating phone, so he hurriedly answered the call.

“Morning, kid. We have a crime scene and I think you’ll want to be there. Want me to pick you up?” Gil asked. Malcolm could hear the engine of his car turning.

“Yes, that’d be great,” Malcolm answered, suppressing his excitement. He’d been waiting for anothermurder to surface, but New York had seemingly run dry of crime. This is exactly what he needed.

*****

They arrived at the scene of the crime, which was already sectioned off by yellow crime tape. Gil and Malcolm squeezed past a couple of technicians into the tight apartment.

“The body is in the living room, found by the victim’s son who was in town for the weekend,” Gil informed Malcolm. The victim, a white, middle aged man, laid in the middle of the room. Crouched next to the body was Edrisa, who was poking and prodding at different parts of the body. Dani and JT watched from where they stood, silently observing.

“His hands were cut off,” Malcolm stated rather obviously. Somebody had sawed through the man’s hands, right above the wrist, and the missing appendages laid about a foot from the body.

“Right,” Edrisa said. “The assailant cut through the vic’s brachial artery, resulting in severe blood loss.”

“That’s the cause of death, then?” JT asked Edrisa.

“No. The cause of death was intense trauma to the base of the skull, killing him almost instantly. The removal of the victim’s arm happened postmortem,” Edrisa stated. 

“So the arm has to be symbolic or it’s the killer’s signature. The hand is seen as a tool or a weapon, so our killer could be trying to send a message of strength or power over the victim. What do we know about him?” Malcolm turned to Dani for an answer.

“Geoffry Lancaster, fifty-eight years old,” Dani said. “We’re holding his son for further questioning, too.”

Malcolm frowned. “His son? That’s who found him, right?”

“Yeah, no way he did it though. Kid was freaked when we found him,” JT said. “He’s home from medical school. Yale, he said.”

Edrisa stood up. “Well, I need to see if I missed anything back at the lab.”

“Then let’s head back to the precinct, see what we can dig up on this man.”

*****

Malcolm paced in front of the whiteboard in the meeting room, waiting for the other to get back from the autopsy report. The board itself was still quite empty, just a picture of Geoffry Lancaster and everything interesting or noteworthy about him. There wasn’t much.

Geoffry Lancaster’s wife died twenty-three years ago, when his son was three years old. He had been working at a construction company for his entire life. His entire life had been devoid of anything exciting, his son had said. Blissfully boring.

His son wasn’t very exciting himself. Finn Lancaster had gotten a full ride to Yale when he was eighteen, and was currently enrolled in medical school. He had a past of anxiety, but that was all. When they had spoken to him, the kid had seemed shaken to the core. Nobody believed he could’ve done it.

Finally, everyone else entered the room, looking grim. 

“Nothing new,” Gil said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. 

“This dude hasn’t done anything in his life to anger anyone,” JT proclaimed. “Who could possibly want to kill him?”

“Well, someone did. Whether it was because of something he did or somebody just killed him to kill him, that’s up to find out. I say we go and talk to some of his coworkers or his boss. He’s worked there for so long, they have to know a thing or two Finn doesn’t,” Dani said.

Gil turns to Malcolm. “Who should we be looking for, Bright?”

“Brute force was used at the crime scene, and cutting off someone’s arm is no small feat, so probably somebody who is quite strong-” Malcolm starts.

“They’re investigating a construction company,” JT reminds him.

“Geoffry might’ve stopped the assailant from getting something he wanted, so the killer wanted to, ‘put him in his place’, so to speak,” Malcolm continued. “Anyone who looks like they have a fragile ego or might be easily offended.” 

“Okay. Dani and I will check out the work place. JT, you and Bright can question the landlord and Lancaster’s neighbors.” Gil decided.

JT scowled.

Malcolm smiled.

“Great,” they both said at the same time.

*****

A wailing was emitted from one of the apartments next to Lancaster’s, so JT and Malcolm started at the other one. They knocked on the door and a young man answered.

“Hello?” he asked.

“NYPD,” JT answered. “We’d like to ask you some questions about Geoffry Lancaster.”

“Okay, come on in.” JT and Malcolm followed him into an apartment with pretty much the same layout as Geoffry Lancaster’s home but much more updated. The man led them into a living room and JT and Malcolm sat down on the two armchairs. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Joan? Who’s here?” a voice called. Another man entered the room.

Joan looked over at him. “The police. They’re here to ask about Geoff.”

“It’s horrible what happened to him. He seemed such a great guy. Good neighbor,” the second man said. He sat down on the couch right next to Joan and slung an arm over his shoulder.

“He never did anything suspicious or anything that upset you? Have you ever heard anything that sounded odd or out of character for him? Anything at all?” JT pushed.

“He’s always been really quiet, never really spoken to him. We’ve only lived here for three years, of course, so we haven’t known him for that long,” Joan said. “I think he’s been living here longer than anyone.”

“And who lives on the other side of him?”

Joan thought for a second. “Julia and her baby. She’s only lived her a few more years than us.”

“Okay, Thank you for your help,” JT said with a sigh.

They left the apartment and started toward Geoff’s other neighbor, Julia’s, apartment. The sound of a baby crying had ceased.

“What can you tell me about them?” JT asked Malcolm. 

Malcolm frowned. “Not much, I’m afraid. They didn’t seem to know Lancaster at all, and they said everything we’ve already heard. Do you think we’ll get more from Julia, even if she’s lived here longer? Seems like Geoff was a pretty private guy.”

“We can go straight to the landlord. Who knows how well he knows his tenants, but if Geoffry’s lived here so long, they’ve had to talk to each other more than once,” JT said.

The landlord was actually an elderly lady named Minnie. She let JT and Malcolm into her apartment and poured them both a cup of tea. Malcolm accepted his gratefully, but JT set his back into the saucer, rattling the plate.

“Sorry,” JT said with a wince. “What can you tell us about Geoffry Lancaster?”

Minnie thought for a second. “He was a very routine man. Up and off to work early in the mornings, back home at night. He never worked weekends until his boy went off to college. Very sweet boy, too. Geoffry loved him very much. They’re the perfect tenants, really.”

*****

“Well, that was useless,” JT grumbled as they drove back to the precinct.

“Lancaster really had no personal life. His entire world revolved around his son and work,” Malcolm thought aloud. “I wonder if he did that on purpose, trying to distance himself from people, because of his wife. He could of been trying to avoid getting hurt again.”

JT snorted. “Or he could just have a two-track mind. Work, son, work, son. Pretty simple, straightforward life. That could be it.”

Malcolm didn’t respond. He didn’t get a chance to- JT’s phone, which was connected to his car’s Bluetooth, started ringing. JT answered.

“What’s up, Dani?” JT asked.

“Another body has been found. She’s missing an arm.”


	2. Sophia Abdel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the death of Sophia Abdel, the team finds connections and a lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least Malcolm's sleeping...right?

Second body, also found dead in apartment, also missing both hands.

“What’s her name?” JT asked. Malcolm and he arrived later to the crime scene and were trying to catch up. This time, instead of the victim killed by blunt force trauma, her throat was slit. Otherwise, it was pretty much the same.

“Sophia Abdil, thirty-eight. She was an architect at Filard-Moore,” Dani supplied. She was crouched right next to the body, frowning down at it. The woman bore no resemblance to Lancaster. She was younger, brown-skinned, and was wearing a pantsuit. 

“Isn’t that-”

“The same firm Geoffry Lancaster worked for? Yeah. They didn’t actually work together, though. Sophia worked on the Moore side, while Geoffry was on the Filard half,” Dani said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the two of them have never met.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s a connection between the two of them, and the strongest lead we have. We should ask around there some more,” Gil decided. “That’ll have to wait until tomorrow, though. We need to get her body back to the precinct, have Edrisa check her out. Until then, head back home. We’ll look further tomorrow.

Malcolm looks at Gil hopefully. 

“I’m heading back to the precinct, Bright, and you should get home,” Gil said apologetically. “Dani, can you give him a ride?”

Dani blinked once, then sighed. “Yeah, sure.”

“Thanks,” Malcolm said.

*****

They got into the car and Dani turned on the radio, scrolling through stations. Malcolm shifted in the seat uncomfortably as the silence continued, waiting for Dani to say something. 

“What do you think?” she asked finally after settling on a station. 

“About what?”

“The killer, Bright. You have to have a theory,” Dani said.

“Right. Of course,” Malcolm stumbled. “I mean, my profile is kind of rough. White, probably in his thirties, well-built, insecure or easily upset. Chances are he’s egotistical. I’m guessing he worked with Geoffry. What’s your theory?”

Dani hesitated. “They had to have worked with either Sophia or Geoffry. It’s their only connection, and unless another body shows up or we find more information, it’s one of our only leads. I just hope Sophia is a bit more interesting than Lancaster was, maybe she’ll actually have a social life. Two bodies in one day, though. Seems like the killer is in a rush.”

“Trying to clean up a mess, maybe,” Malcolm suggested.

“Maybe,” Dani said, “but I want to find out who is doing this and stop them before they get the chance to finish.”

“Isn’t that what we all want,” muttered Malcolm as Dani pulled in front of Malcolm’s apartment. “Thanks for the ride."

“Anytime. See you tomorrow.”

Malcolm climbed out of the car and walked into his apartment. When he entered, Sunshine whistled in her cage. Malcolm smiled.

“Hey, girly,” he said, offering her his finger. She pecked at it before squawking angrily. “What is it? Ah.” 

He filled her food and water bowls, and Sunshine chirped happily.

Without anything else to do, Malcolm figured it was time to attempt to get some sleep. He brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. His mouth guard was still lying on the ground, so he picked it up and rinsed it off, then bit down. Malcolm bit down on the guard, got into bed, and chained himself in. Nice and cozy.

Malcolm stared at the ceiling, whether awaiting sleep or dreading it, he wasn’t sure.

*****

When he dreamt, Malcolm had no trouble remembering that he was asleep, but waking himself back up was the problem. His dreams were repetitive, and he knew where this one was going.

Malcolm stood in his father’s cell. It was empty other than Malcolm, and he was the one chained to the wall. The heavy wooden door was pushed open, and Ainsley entered.

She looked at him with anger and disgust. “Why’d you do it, Malcolm? Why’d you kill all of those people? We promised we’d never be like Dad! You’re better than that, I thought you were better than that!”

By the time she finished, Ainsley was wiping at her eyes and sniffling. Malcolm wanted nothing more than to take a few steps forward and embrace his sister, but his chains grew tighter and dragged him closer and closer to the wall. He tried to cry out, but his voice was gone. 

The room disappeared. Malcolm was alone again, and he was out of breath, like he had just run a marathon. He leaned forward to catch his breath, and when he stood up, he was in the basement of his old home. His dad was kneeling in front of him so they were eye to eye. Martin touched his face. “You know what they say, my boy. Like father like son.”

Malcolm sat up in his bed. He spat out his mouth guard and heaved. The clock read five in the morning. Malcolm groaned and climbed out of bed, figuring he might as well get ready. God knows he wouldn’t be falling back asleep anytime soon.

*****

The precinct was almost empty when Malcolm arrived. He walked straight into the meeting room and set down the drink carrier he had gotten at the coffee shop. While he waited for the rest of the team to arrive, he sat down on one of the chairs and gazed listlessly at the facts listed. Geoffry had been joined by Sophia, though only basic facts about her had been written. Nothing Malcolm didn’t already know.

“What are you doing here so early, kid?” Gil asked from behind him.

Malcolm swiveled in his chair to face him. “Just woke up early,” he said. 

“Well, Dani and JT should be here soon, so we can get started.”

“I got you a coffee,” Malcolm remembered and slid him the cup. “Here.”

“Morning,” Dani said as she and JT filed in. 

“Tea?” Malcolm offered.

She smiled, and both JT and she took their drinks. 

“Okay, let’s get started. Edrisa said there’s nothing new about the body. We just need to investigate further at Filard-Moore,” Gil said. “Malcolm, Dani, can you talk to some more of her coworkers? JT, we can look around her office a bit. If we don’t find anything, we can take a second look at her apartment. Everyone onboard?” 

The three of them chorused “yes”, and they left for Filard-Moore.

*****

Malcolm almost wished he were merely peeking around an office. Everyone of Sophia’s coworkers that he and Dani had talked to were stuck-up and impatient, and not a single one of them seemed to care that Sophia had died. It was so different from how everyone had reacted to Geoffry’s death.

Dani huffed once they finished talking to another snobbish architect. “One more,” she promised, “then we’ll head out. I can’t stand these people. I don’t know how you’re so calm through all of this.”

“I’m well practiced in the art of making it look like I have any patience,” he said with a shrug.

“I don’t even want to know,” Dani responded.

They walked farther down the hall in which Sophia’s office was in. Dani was just raising her hand to knock on another office door when they both received a text. Malcolm fished his phone out of his pocket.

“It’s JT,” he informed Dani. “He said that…” 

“What?” Dani asked. She read the text aloud over his shoulder, “‘We’ve checked the office. Sophia left a note- we know the killer’, oh, God. We need to find Ian Leevers.”


	3. Ian Leevers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team makes connections and finds more clues after the discovery of the third and final body. Malcolm is as impulsive as ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

Malcolm and Dani abandoned the door they’d been about to knock on and ran down the hall, towards the floor’s front desk. The man sitting at it looked up at the two of them with a bored look on his face.

“How can I help you?” he asked monotonously.

“Where can we find Ian Leevers?” Dani questioned him. 

The man entered the name into his computer slowly, repeating the name soundlessly as he used only his two index fingers to type. Dani drummed her fingers on the counter impatiently. Finally, the receptionist finished typing and looked back up at them.

“Ian Leevers, in accounting. Floor three.”

Dani didn’t even wait for him to finish before taking off, Malcolm on her heels. She tried the elevator, but didn’t wait long before turning to the stairwell. She huffed in disappointment. The pair raced down three flights of stairs.

They arrived at the correct floor and glanced around. The room was filled with cubicles, all of them identical. A few people looked up when the door slammed shut. 

A woman stood up. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“NYPD,” Dani said, flashing her badge. “We’re looking for Ian Leevers.”

“Ian isn’t here today.”

Malcolm pulled out a notepad. “Can we get his address?”

*****

When Dani and Malcolm arrived at Ian Leevers's apartment, Gil’s car was already parked outside. JT was waiting for them in the entryway.

“Dead?” Dani asked him. 

“Yep,” JT answered heavily. “Missing an arm, too.”

Malcolm swallowed. He wasn’t sure if the killer was going to keep killing and killing or if he was just working his way down some hitlist. He didn’t want to wait to find out.

“Did you find anything else in Abdel’s apartment?” Malcolm asked.

JT smiled, which seemed wildly inappropriate considering the situation, but Malcolm had no room to judge. “We did, in fact. It seems that Sophia had uncovered something going on at Filard-Moore. Somebody was embezzling funds. You’ll never guess who.”

“Leevers,” Dani said. “So did someone other than Sophia know what he was doing? That still doesn’t make sense.” She paused for a second. “Did Ian have a partner?”

“Bingo. Abdel’s desk was covered with sticky notes, one mentioned Ian Leevers and one other guy. Sophia must’ve not known who he was working with.” 

“Then how was Geoffry involved? Did Sophia suspect him?” 

JT paused. “I don’t think so. There wasn’t any mention of him. He could’ve sensed something was going on too.”

“They must’ve approached the perp, otherwise, how would he know that they-” Malcolm started, interrupted by his phone buzzing with notifications. He sighed and pulled out the phone. “One second,” he told JT and Dani before turning around and answering the call. 

“Good morning, Mother,” he said.

His mother didn’t even bother with formalities. “You’ll be joining your sister and me for lunch in an hour, I hope you’re properly dressed. Do I need to send someone to pick you up?”

“I’m working,” Malcom informed her uselessly.

“And the work will still be there after lunch. I’ll see you there.”

Jessica hung up without another word, and Malcolm suppressed a groan. He turned back to the other two, who were discussing quietly and animatedly.

He smiled. “I’m afraid I’ll have to catch up with you after lunch.”

*****

Malcolm caught a cab rather than waiting for his mother’s driver to show up. He considered waiting outside of the restaurant for his sister, knowing that she was going to be late and that his mother had probably already arrived, but when the perpetually grey New York skies began to drizzle, he gave up and walked inside. 

Jessica was sitting in their usual spot next to one of the huge windows at the front of the restaurant, dressed too nicely for lunch on a weekday. She set down her wine glass and smiled at him when he entered.

“Hello, dear,” she greeted as Malcom sat down. “How are you doing? Did you sleep last night? You look exhausted.”

“Per usual. Yes, I slept for almost five hours,” Malcom said. “Oh, look. Here’s Ainsley.”

Ainsley, wearing her work clothes, slid into the seat between Malcolm and Jessica. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all,” Malcolm said, glad for the interruption.

A waiter came over and the three of them ordered light meals, making small talk as they waited for their food.

“How’s work going, Ainsley?” their mother asked. 

“Really well. One of our top reporters is retiring, and even if I don’t get to fill her position, I’m still going to move up,” Ainsley said excitedly.

“Well, maybe one day we’ll see on a more popular channel,” Jessica commented.

Ainsley rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m happy with what I’m doing, and I love the people I work with.”

“Oh, I know,” Jessica hummed. 

Malcolm had no idea what she meant by that and didn’t ask.

“You looking into those new deaths?” Ainsley asked him. He winced, wishing she hadn’t asked.

“New deaths?” Jessica asked with an undertone of bitterness. “I was unaware that you were… investigating again.”

“I told you that I was working,” Malcolm reminded her. 

His mother sighed. “I know, I just wish you had a different hobby, involving more tasteful people.”

“Gil is very tasteful,” Ainsley interjected. 

“My son being a police consult isn’t something I can very well brag about at a gala, though,” Jessica complained.

“Yeah, well,” Ainsley started to argue on Malcolm's behalf when his phone buzzed. He checked who it was from-Gil.

“Oh, I hope we aren’t taking up your time,” his mother said. 

“Nope,” Malcolm said. He started to put his phone back when he got another text.

Ainsley took pity on him by standing up. “I should head back to work.”

“Yeah, me too,” Malcolm said. “Thanks for lunch.”

“I’ll see you both soon!” their mother called after them as they walked out. The two of them exchanged a smile. 

*****

Gil’s texts had informed Malcolm that they had a solid guess on the identity of the killer, they were just trying to find out where he was. Wyatt Steinburg worked with Geoffry Lancaster and was seen with Ian Leevers more than once. 

Malcolm didn’t think to ask Gil before heading straight to Filard-Moore firm. He had a general idea of where Steinburg might be. The Filard-Moore building wasn’t that big-it was separated into two halves, one for each department. Malcolm made his way to the Filard half and found where Geoffry worked, construction equipment operations. It was right next to the warehouse where the equipment was held.

The warehouse was quiet. Malcolm’s steps echoed through the large space. 

“Wyatt?” 

Silence.

“I know you’re here!” Malcolm lied. He waited a few seconds, eyes flitting among all of the different heavy-duty vehicle in the dimly lit area. 

“How’d you find me?” a gravelly voice asked.

Malcolm twisted around to see a tall, broad-shouldered man standing behind him. 

“Well, your workplace isn’t the best place to hide,” Malcolm said.

Wyatt stepped forward. His hands were folded behind his back. “And how’d you know it was me?” he asked.

“You weren’t as neat with your killings as you might’ve thought. I mean, three people in two days? You clearly were in a rush.”

“I couldn’t get caught. I still can’t, if you can try to understand. Just have to do one last thing, then I can go,” Wyatt explained, stepping even closer. Malcolm stared at him silently, waiting for the punch. “One last thing,” Wyatt whispered again. He pulled out a gun, held it so the barrel was level with Malcolm’s nose. 

Malcolm looked down at the revolver which was nearly touching the tip of his nose. “Why did you kill them all?” he asked, making eye contact with Wyatt. “You’d get less time for simply embezzling money.”

“That’s the thing. I’m not going to have to serve anytime- I’m not going to jail,” Wyatt said adamantly. He was quivering slightly.

“Sophia, Geoffry, I can understand, then. They figured you out, they were going to turn you in. But Ian Leevers, you were working with him. Why did you kill him?” Malcolm pushed.

Wyatt adjusted his grip on the gun, shifted his feet. “Ian… Ian wasn’t supposed to die. He was going to be fine, we were making money. He was going to back out, though, he was going to turn himself in. I couldn’t let him.”

Malcolm took advantage of Wyatt’s momentary sorrow by knocking the gun out of his hands and tackling him to the ground. He held Wyatt’s arms behind his back with one hand and pulled his phone out with the other. He called Gil.

“Malcolm? Where are you?” Gil asked.

“At Filard-Moore. In the warehouse.”

“What in the world are you doing there?”

Malcolm stayed guiltily quiet for a second. 

Gil sighed. “Honestly, Bright. We’ll be there in a minute.”

*****

“Sorry,” Malcolm said once they got Wyatt in custody.

Gil shook his head. “I can’t be mad at you. We caught the killer and you’re still in one piece. But you’re not always going to be so lucky. I want yo tell you to wait for us next time, but I don’t think you’ll listen.

Malcolm didn’t say anything back, knowing Gil was right. As usual. The two of them watched as Wyatt Steinburg, his head hanging forward, was taken away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr: raspberrypez  
Instagram: _xadia


End file.
